Jack Delosa, founder and CEO of The Entourage, is a devotee of cryotherapy. Here, he answers our Q&A.

You debuted on the Young Rich List in 2014 with The Entourage. This year you're ranked No. 91, worth $28 million. How does the business work?

When you step into our membership, you learn from workshops, specialist advisers and online – on demand. Through the Entourage Beanstalk Factory we help clients like Suncorp, Telstra, Monash University and the Queensland government get innovation done; there are huge challenges to that in a large bureaucratic environment.

What prompted you to work in the education sector?

Jack Delosa: "I try to think about warmth, also the physical benefits that are occurring. Cold immersion forces you to become present. There's a de-stressing element to that."
Dominic Lorrimer

My parents had a not-for-profit business called Breaking the Cycle, which took unemployed youth, kids out of jail and drug addicts and put them through a life skills and employability program and placed them in jobs. The business collapsed when the Victorian government cut their funding. My father said to me afterwards that regardless of how well intended you are, you can't run off love, trust and pixie dust. You need to be underpinned by financial sustainability and scalability. My other motivation was that when I was 18 my brother Tom, who was 21, died as a result of drug use. Tom was smarter than I was, more independently minded, hugely charismatic and funny. He just never found a path or a passion.

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There's no silver bullet for success in business. But a silver bullet is how you describe your downtime pursuits of cold immersion and cryotherapy. Why?

One day in 2015, after 11 years in a start-up, high-growth business, I woke up exhausted.

A university professor told me hot and cold immersion was in the top three things people could do to increase personal performance and physical condition. I already knew that saunas helped me to sleep better and be mentally clearer. He said to have a cold shower once a day for three minutes. It was painful, discouraging and torturous, but I slept deeply. I started getting up at 5am mentally clearer and made better choices around diet and lifestyle.

How does it work?

Cold immersion stimulates your cardiovascular system and lymphatic system, which builds your immune system. It also lessens cortisol in your brain, which is the chemical that stimulates feelings of stress; it increases endorphin release and sleep hormones. Heat immersion relaxes muscles, is great for skin and relaxation.

What's your regimen?

I do a cold shower morning and evening and heat immersion three to five days a week, preferably after the cold shower. Cryogenics is a supplementary weekly therapy that is a little more extreme. It's three minutes in a tank dealing with nitrogen that is coming out at minus-150 degrees Celsius. It's also effective for sport and athletic recovery.

How does it feel and what do you think about?

In the cryo tank your outer skin feels it enough to let you know you're alive. I try to think about warmth, also the physical benefits that are occurring. Cold immersion forces you to become present. There's a de-stressing element to that.

Do people latch on to how you spend your downtime as if you've got all the answers?

We filmed me in the cryo tank and in six weeks 30,000 people had watched it. I've been putting out content for eight years and never had so much response. My immediate circle of friends is now doing some form of hot and cold immersion and the number of emails and Facebook and Instagram messages from people who are now doing it has been incredible.

For someone who's on stage and in front of people talking a lot, your other passions are solitary.

I get energised from being alone and having time and space. When the camera's on and I'm on stage I can do extroversion well. But I need the quiet in order to feel healthy and whole, and to connect with other people.